Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions that include earlier publications) can be filtered by Animal Type, Setting, and Topic. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 

Animal welfare is a result of accumulated negative and positive emotions. Therefore, it is important to limit the former and promote the latter. Doing so requires a precise identification of these emotions. The aim of...

Keystone individuals are expected to disproportionately contribute to group stability. For instance, rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) who police conflict contribute towards stability. Not all individuals’ motivations align with mechanisms of group stability. In wild systems...

Intensification and complexity of pig production systems may require different strategies for animal welfare improvement. We aimed to identify welfare issues of gestation sows and areas for improvement by comparing four production systems, including the...

Poultry can see in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum and supplementation of UVA has been shown to reduce laying hens’ fear and stress. The shorter wavelengths (UVB) also facilitate vitamin D3 production. However, UV spectrums are...

Many of the fear tests used in the welfare assessments of broiler chickens assume that birds will withdraw from a given stimulus if they are fearful. However, fear test responses may also depend on the...

In fisheries science, chemical anaesthesia and electrical immobilisation are often studied in laboratory or aquaculture settings with little focus on post-release behaviours of fish in the wild. We used nest-guarding smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) as...

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for artificial insemination (AI) centers to procure high-quality bedding materials. The aim of this study was to investigate influences of bedding materials on selected environmental and welfare-related...

There is currently a focus on the importance of providing positive experiences to farm animals, which can be facilitated through the provision of environmental enrichment. Brushes are an established enrichment resource for dairy cows, however...

Assessing quality of life in animals is an art as much as a science. Despite the use of questionnaires and keeper reports which consider several aspects of well-being, the process often remains subjective. Keepers have...

Environmental enrichment is a way to provide growing pigs with a complex environment to explore and occupy themselves as they grow. Single point enrichment can provide some complexity to the environment while not having the...

Empirical evidence suggests fishes meet the criteria for experiencing pain beyond a reasonable doubt and zebrafish are being increasingly used in studies of pain and nociception. Zebrafish are adopted across a wide range of experimental...

Non-invasive markers of affective states can help understanding animals’ perception of situations and improving their welfare. These markers are scarce in avian species. In this study, we investigate the potential relation between alterations in facial...

Due to often insufficient information, reptiles suffer welfare issues and increased mortality in captivity. In particular, the impact of the social environment remains poorly understood, despite evidence suggesting its’ importance for welfare in a wide...

When necessary, sea turtles are held captive for veterinarian care and research purposes. Protocols and basic guidelines have been described for husbandry of sea turtles with veterinarian needs but not considering physiological indicators of animal...

Medicating large production animals, such as sows, individually can be challenging, especially when repeated treatments are needed. Intramuscular (i.m.) injections have been shown to be aversive, and an increased reaction could be expected over consecutive...

Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are considered pests by farmers and homeowners. Consequent attempts to exterminate problem adult vervet monkeys often result in orphaned young offspring, which are sometimes taken to wildlife rehabilitation centers. We assessed...

In commercial hatcheries, laying hen chicks are exposed to a range of stressors that have previously been shown to induce long-term negative effects on their welfare. It has been suggested that stimulation of play behaviour...

Anesthetics are commonly used in fish for surgery and to facilitate capture, handling and transport in aquaculture and experimental procedures. In research, the selection of the anesthetic depends on its properties and on the recovery...

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine whether firocoxib (FIRO) or meloxicam (MEL) was effective at providing analgesia after surgical castration in goats. ANIMALS 18 intact male crossbred goats (6 to 8 months old) were enrolled...

Laboratory fish play an important role in many research fields, and they are also raised and bred in many laboratories around the world. While many studies have suggested suitable feeding densities for various laboratory fish...

Laboratory fish play an important role in modern scientific research. More and more researchers have begun to pay attention to the other living environment except the physical and chemical factors of the water body, because...

Being awake but motionless, inactive-but-awake (IBA), has been suggested to reflect low arousal negative affect in several species. This preliminary study investigated IBA in rats exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Stress (CUS), opportunistically (to comply with...

OBJECTIVE To assess the repeatability of infrared thermometer temperature readings and evaluate the correlation between digital rectal temperature and infrared thermometer temperatures taken at different locations in healthy afebrile horses. ANIMALS 101 afebrile horses ≥...

Management choices during the pullet phase can affect behavior, welfare, and health later in life, but few studies have evaluated the pullet phase, particularly in extensive housing systems. This study was a 2 × 2...

When disease progression or treatment effects are investigated, pigs are frequently used for imaging studies. We recently showed that prolonged anesthesia with intensive blood sampling and road transportation affect internal organs in non-recovery imaging studies...